“There was no Palestinian gunfire; we were all clearly unarmed civilians; why were the soldiers shooting?” asked another ISM volunteer.

But the incident has again highlighted the risks international peace activists take in their effort to shed light on the plight of the Palestinian people.

In March 2003, 23-year-old American ISM peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death while trying to prevent an Israeli bulldozer from bulldozing a Palestinian home in the town of Rafah.

Five ISM peace activists were shot and wounded in July when Israeli soldiers fired on the demonstrators protesting against the construction of Israel’s apartheid wall.

And in September, two European ISM activists were jailed by Israeli authorities for trying to prevent the destruction of another Palestinian home. The pair were held imprisoned for 10 days before being deported.